FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT UNAUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY - PAGE 2

He's A Rebel By Mark Ribowsky Dutton, 339 pages, $18.95 Earlier this year, when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honored Phil Spector for his musical achievements by inducting him as a nonperforming member, the veteran record producer and songwriter reportedly showed up drunk to accept the tribute. Helped to the stage by bodyguards, Spector proceeded to wax incoherent as he collected his award, making jokes about confusing the induction with President Bush's inauguration.

In "Nancy Reagan: The Unauthorized Biography," author Kitty Kelley paints the former first lady as ruthless, vengeful and vicious. The same could be said of Kitty Kelley. The Simon & Schuster audio version, even though abridged to a relatively scant three hours ($15.95), is still a slugfest of mammoth proportions. It is an ugly, sickening, sad thing, full of venom and innuendo. It's more a bludgeoning than a skewering. Worse still, parts of it ring true. No, not the part about the "lunches" with Frank Sinatra-that's just insinuation.

The voice on the line was unmistakable, its East Texas twang the remnant of a childhood spent in small-town Texarkana. Weeks earlier, the first unauthorized biography of Ross Perot had appeared in bookstores. He hadn`t read the book yet, but he already didn`t like it. He wanted to speak his mind. Problem No. 1: the cover. A photo of Perot, index finger raised, back straight as a plank, and lips firmly closed. A yellow rose is pinned to his lapel. "It makes me look rich," Perot complained to Jeffrey Krames, editor of the book entitled "Perot: An Unauthorized Biography."

This is one book that won't be getting Oprah Winfrey's endorsement. The unauthorized "Oprah: A Biography," due out Tuesday from celebrity scribe Kitty Kelley, already has created buzz. Kelley claims the new book — based on interviews with family, friends and co-workers, and on transcripts of the interviews Winfrey has given — will show Winfrey in "high-definition," USA Today reports. However, her list of interviewees does not include Winfrey, and, as with past books about Frank Sinatra and Nancy Reagan, questions remain about Kelley's accuracy.

- An article Thursday on a political job Sen. Strom Thurmond has arranged for his son incorrectly identified the authors of "Ol' Strom: An Unauthorized Biography of Strom Thurmond." The co-authors are Jack Bass and Marilyn Thompson. - The obituary of Margaret N. Method in Saturday's editions contained incorrect information on the memorial service. It will be at 4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 23, in Fourth Presbyterian Church, 126 E. Chestnut St. A corrected version of the obituary is in today's paper.

Andrew Morton's new book is off Tom Cruise's reading list. In fact, Cruise's reps said he might be preparing to launch a "legal assault" against the author of "Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography," according to the New York Daily News. Why the furor? Among the claims made in the book is that Cruise is the No. 2 leader of the Church of Scientology. The book also speculates that Cruise's daughter, Suri, was fathered by late Scientology founder Ron Hubbard. "His book is a rehash of tired old lies about Tom and his religion, some new grotesque lies ... ," Cruise's lawyer, Bert Fields, told Reuters.

Bob Jones, the longtime publicist for Michael Jackson who said he dubbed the singer "the king of pop" and who co-wrote "The Man Behind the Mask," an unauthorized biography critical of the star, has died. He was 72. Mr. Jones died Sept. 20, apparently of a heart attack, at his Los Angeles home, said his sister, Donna Jones. From 1987 to 2004, Mr. Jones helped guide Jackson through "the hailstorms and minefields of unprecedented celebrity," Mr. Jones and journalist Stacy Brown wrote in their 2005 book.

ECHO HOUSE By Ward Just (Penguin $12.95) The decline of the Behls, a Washington political family, parallels the decline of a political era. LIFE IN BLACK AND WHITE By Brenda E. Stevenson (Oxford Univ. Press $16.95) A scholarly and fascinating portrait of Southern family and community life during slavery. GIVING OFFENSE By J.M. Coetzee (Univ. of Chicago Press $14.95) Analytical essays on censorship, from a South African writer who has lived and worked under its shadow.

Scotland Yard started an investigation Wednesday into a video that allegedly shows troubled British singer Amy Winehouse smoking crack. The British tabloid The Sun released grainy footage showing Winehouse inhaling fumes from a pipe. Busta Rhymes pleaded guilty Wednesday in New York to assaulting his ex-driver and a fan in a deal that will bring 3 years' probation and 10 days of community service. The rapper also must pay a $1,250 fine for driving while intoxicated and with a suspended license.

- Handsome Hanson? We were just peeking through the photos in "Hanson: An Unauthorized Biography" ($4 paperback, Scholastic) and had kind of a sad thought: Isn't 16-year-old Isaac not quite as adorable as his younger bros? Well, maybe he's the brains of the operation. - Appetizing show: Do nature shows make you squeamish cuz you never know when some cuddly critter is gonna get chomped on? Tune into the PBS nature series "Kratts' Creatures" (check local listings) and you won't feel like losing your lunch.